20030623

June 23, 2003                     Open new window with today’s pictures.
Monday

Start:   Seaquest SP, Castle Rock, WA
End:     Fort Worden SP, Port Townsend, WA
Miles:   158
Hi Temp: 66.7
Lo Temp: 49.1


We got up in a dreary, but not raining, campground.  The clouds were low, dashing any hope of running up to the viewpoints and seeing Mount St Helens. So we ate, hooked up, and got on the road for (this is a change) Port Townsend, WA.

We went up I5, and at Olympia we turned north on US101.  Near Port Townsend, we changed onto WA20 to enter town. We arrived at Fort Worden at the stroke of noon. We've been here before (1995 last) but we've not camped here.  We checked in and were given directions to the beach sites, #48.

We went down to the beach (the north beach fronts on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and the east beach fronts on Admiralty Inlet around Point Wilson) and found our site, unhooked and set up. It's a good site with views to the east and north.

Fort Worden is an old Coast Artillery Fort, built to keep enemies out of Puget Sound.  They never fired a shot in anger. The place was used as the setting for the film, "An Officer and a Gentleman", back when. The old officers quarters still stand and are rented out to families or groups. Many of the other buildings are similarly rented out as possible.  Other buildings have been updated and are used by the state; the old guardhouse is the gift shop, the old admin building is the office for camping and the visitor's center.  The chapel and movie theater are intact.  The Army decommissioned the place around 1950 and turned it over to the state of Washington.

As we were setting up the trailer, the clouds parted and eventually went away altogether, leaving us a clear, cool, day.

We took the truck to town and found a place for lunch. It was all right, with satisfactory but not great service.

We were walking around downtown when we found a phone and decided to see if space could be obtained on the ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert on Canada Day, July 1. We'd been talking about this idea since Art Harasek put it into our minds. Darned if it didn't work out. We'll change our itinerary to reflect skipping Vancouver and the rest of the route to the Cassiar Highway, and putting in the places we'll use going up Vancouver Island.  The price was really high compared with the ferry to Newfoundland last year, but Dolores said she'd cover it from her overload bonus check that's sitting at home.

Then we came back to the campground to pick up our shopping list and went back out to take the truck around the city's automobile tour route.  We saw many Victorian houses and buildings (the town was big in the 1880's and 1890's) that were quite impressive.  Nobody, though, will ever call that courthouse beautiful.

We ended the tour by doing our grocery shopping, and returning them to the little house. We loafed, read, and watched Canadian TV from Victoria, BC. 

Then we grilled steaks and nuked potatoes to accompany the salad and wine for dinner.  They were very good (Oregon beef). Then we took a long walk along the east beach, back to the trailer, then out to the north beach and back. Now we're in the mood to settle down.

 

20030624                     Open new window with today’s pictures.

June 24, 2003
Tuesday

Start:   Fort Worden SP, Port Townsend WA
End:     Fort Worden SP, Port Townsend WA
Miles:   0
Hi Temp: 62.6
Lo Temp: 48.7


The temps didn't get to the 70f forecast, but it was clear.  Also, the wind kicked up to about 20 knots, so it felt rather cold in the wind and out of the sun. If you could get out of the wind and stay in the sun, it was beautiful.

We headed out to Port Angeles, some 50 miles west, right after breakfast in the trailer. We've been in PA (as most call it here) several times and even subscribed to the paper for a period, thinking it might be a place to live.  It still looks nice, but..

Once there, we checked with the ferry people on check-in procedures for tomorrow.  Then we got some brochures (that we never used) at the city's visitors center.

Then we headed to the Olympic National Park visitors center. We got new maps and information from a ranger, then headed up the road to Hurricane Ridge. It was a nice drive, with millions of green trees and beautiful snow-covered mountains. At the top, we looked through the gift shop, took a few pictures of deer in the meadow just below the center, and then had lunch.

After lunch, we took a hike on several of the short trails they have close to the center on Hurricane Ridge. There were about seven deer out feeding at various times.  Dolores found many new flowers and dutifully took pictures of them.  Then she checked with a ranger to determine their names. Some of the names were Avalanche Lily, Glacier Lily, and Cinquefoil.

Then we came back down from the center (at 5,242') to sea level in fifteen minutes.  We did some recreational shopping (where you don't intend to buy anything and don't) at a sidewalk sale, looked around a bookshop, and just plain walked.

Then we drove out to The Bushwhacker, a place at which we've eaten every other time we've been in PA, mainly because they feature a whole Dungeness Crab dinner that Dolores loves. It's been eight years since the last time we dined there.  Once again, it was very good. The decorations are the same as when we first found the place in 1991. It's good to have some things stay the same - especially the good things.

We drove back to our trailer and started working the computer to put away the pictures (123 of them today). Now I'm doing this, and then we're off to bed. Early start tomorrow to go to Canada.

The wind outside is fierce.  The trailer is rocking around in the gusts, even with the legs down fore and aft.